About Yokohama dyeing
About Yokohama dyeing
AMONG textiles are made in Yokohama.
Yokohama has a 120-year history as a production center for handkerchiefs and scarves, and its techniques are highly acclaimed around the world.
When Yokohama Port opened in 1859, many foreign trading houses gathered there.
Nishijin textile craftsmen from Kyoto and ukiyo-e artists from Edo gathered in Yokohama, and Yokohama dyeing developed while absorbing knowledge from overseas.
In 2014, Tomioka Silk Mill was designated as a World Heritage Site, but the raw silk produced in Tomioka and Kiryu is the only export window.
We gathered in Yokohama. Yokohama, blessed with good weather conditions and water resources, has become a major production center for print processing.
Exports accounted for one-third of the national budget at the time, contributing greatly to Japan's economic development.
●Current Yokohama dyeing
Although the number of factories has decreased dramatically, Yokohama is still a production center for scarves and handkerchiefs, which are famous and prestigious brands.
At the factory, young craftsmen paste the white cloth before printing. This process also requires high technology.
A different mold is placed for each color, and the dye is rubbed without any gaps, just like rubbing a print.
The dyed cloth is steamed to fix the color.
After that, it is finished by washing at a high temperature while carefully adjusting the time depending on the material.
In the past, it was washed in rivers such as the Ooka River and the Tamashigawa River that flow through Yokohama. 
By going through a detailed process, we are able to vividly express delicate and vivid color patterns without damaging the texture of the fabric.
Yokohama's world-class traditional techniques are still being passed down as they evolve.
Using Yokohama's dyeing techniques that supported Japan's prosperity, we will propose a richer lifestyle for the future.
Textile of AMONG is produced in Yokohama
Yokohama has 120 years of history as the center for production of scarves and handkerchiefs,
and their technology has achieved a high reputation in the world.
Since the opening of Yokohama Port in 1859, weavers of 'Nishijin' fabric from Kyoto
as well as artisans of 'Ukiyo-e (wood-block-print)' from Edo (current Tokyo) gathered in Yokohama,
and originated and developed 'Yokohama-zome (dye)' print as they absorbed knowledge coming from overseas.
Silk produced in Tomioka Silk Mill (designated as one of the World Heritage Sites in 2014) or in Kiryu,
was brought to Yokohama, from where raw silk was exported.
Blessed with climate and water resources, Yokohama became the major production area of print processing.
The export of silk increased greatly as it comprised one third of the national budget,
and contributed to the economic growth of Japan.
The number of factories has decreased dramatically but Yokohama is still the major production area of scarves and handkerchiefs. In the factories today, young artisans apply white fabric to the dye-table before print.
They apply different frames to coat different colors on the fabric without gaps.
Dyed fabrics are then steamed to fix the colors on them.
By going through meticulous processes, delicate, yet, deep colors and patterns are vividly expressed
without losing the texture of fabrics.
Such traditional techniques, that Yokohama boasts of, have continued even until today.